Daily Archives: October 3, 2017

While September is my favorite month of the year, it always feels like it flies by in the blink of an eye. Between my birthday, Joey’s birthday, our anniversary AND Branch’s anniversary, not to mention a bunch of close friends’ birthdays, there’s a lot to look forward to and celebrate.

I’m back in the office and getting settled after spending the last few days in Palm Springs on vacation. I’ll be honest, though — it was hard to focus on the beauty around me and the relaxation that usually comes with time spent away from the daily grind when I saw the Vegas tragedy pop up on my phone.

There’s so much darkness and pain swirling around these days between natural disasters and senseless tragedies. It’s hard to make sense of it all and go about things as normal when it feels like the world around us is being constantly turned upside down.

In more uplifting news, my friend Ellen just sent out a newsletter focused on the topic of kindness and my friend Alex just released a book called You’re Going To Survive, all about pulling through difficult times and it makes my heart full knowing that there’s so much goodness still out there — honest, well-meaning people willing to speak up and help others along the way.

THE MONTH

Here’s a little roundup of what I’ve been up to over the last month….

1. Tiki the squirrel is thriving!

Remember my post about Tiki? Well, he is doing great. Really, so much better than we could have ever expected. He has a strong appetite and is still on formula but he’s moving onto solids slowly but surely. His favorite food of the moment is avocado. Seeing a squirrel munching on a slice of avocado IS pretty funny. Chubs is slowly coming around to having a baby brother but I wouldn’t call them buddies just yet. I’m hoping they eventually bond…but we’ll see!

2. The Branch shoot was awesome!

2 weeks ago, I did a big studio shoot for Branch. As my four year business anniversary neared, I wanted to do something special and having a more cohesive visual image was at the top of my wish list. It was a big undertaking sourcing props, pulling together a succinct shot list and thinking about where the images would be used. It definitely forced me to get really clear on where I want my business to go and how I want it to be perceived. I’m hoping to roll out the new look by early next year along with sharing a backlog of 30+ unseen projects…*gulp*.

3. Palm Springs getaway!

Ah, Palm Springs. My happy place! After our condo deal fell through in the late Spring, I was feeling pretty down and it took a few months to regroup and decide what path we wanted to take. After doing a lot of searching and gaining some much needed clarity, we flew down this week to view some more places and found some solid options. Here’s hoping one finally works out! It’s tough judging places on their listing photos alone when you don’t live locally in the area you’re trying to buy in but I know things will work out as they should when the time is right.

4. Getting down to business.

Over the last few months, I’ve dramatically cut back on the amount of time I spend online and on social media. I realized I was slipping into spending a lot of time watching what other people were doing only to realize that my to-do list would be far from complete at the end of each day. It was frustrating and after paying more attention to my habits, I became more aware of the time I was spending procrastinating instead of doing the work…which is much harder! I sometimes feel a bit down about not sharing content as often but the trade-off is that I’m now getting more of my work done. How do you feel about this – are you good about getting work done or do you fall into the never-ending scroll / procrastination trap?

P.S. For all you pumpkin spice addicts, the Pumpkin Spice Chai Latte from Coffee Bean is AWESOME.

Photos: 1. My view yesterday in Palm Springs. Joey hates having his photo taken but funny enough, I caught him in the reflection. Haha! 2. When I’m feeling stressed or out of sorts, I make desktop flatlays. 3. This morning at Norma’s, my favorite breakfast place in Palm Springs. 4. Inside The Parker lobby. I’ve had this dress for ages and just rediscovered it. It’s so nice to wear some color for a change! 5. A photo from my weekend sipping coffee and flipping through magazines. 6. The nook off the back of our kitchen is one of my favorite spots in our house.

THE LINKS

• Looking for ways to help the shooting victims in Vegas? Bustle has compiled a list.

• So many people are struggling right now, all around us. Some, very visibly. Some…not so vsibly. I read this post and it reminded me of how we often think that someone else has already reached out to a friend or loved one during a tough time. But often, they haven’t. Take the time to do it because frankly, you might be the only one.

Nice to meet you!

I'm Shauna, a graphic designer and entrepreneur. I spend my days as the Creative Director of Branch, a boutique design studio. This is my personal blog, which has been going strong since 2007. I'm obsessed with shoes, squirrels and traveling. Read more…

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